Injection molding apparatus



.AWM 25, E95@ F. K. Gown-:ARD 2,505,549

INJECTION MoLDING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 4, 194e 2 sheets-sheet 1 ,www

WB 25 n950 F. IK. GOLDHARD INJECTION MoLDING APPARATUS I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 4, 1946 Patented Apr. Z5, 195@ lill Application February 4, 1946, Serial No. 645,2?779 ln Great Britain February 15, 19455 13 Claims.

The present invention relates'topthe vmouldilig of plastic materials.

In moulding plastic materialsby the comen--v tional methods, usually known asinjection jet or extrusion moulding, Where high pressure is used in the moulding process, the pressure is applied to the material in an injection chamber. In the case of materials which are plastcised by heat, the material is fed to the chamber in a substantially granular state-and is heated up, gradually in the same chamber and then discharged through a nozzle into a Vtapered bore leading to the mould runnersand cavities or through an extrusion nozzle.

For accelerating the even heating of the material in the injection chamber -a-shaped insert is usually employed which causes the material to spread into a thin layer around the `heated walls of the chamber.

These known methods of pressure moulding necessitate the application of` very high operating pressures mainly. due Ato they fact that the resistance of the insert and the nozzle to the passage of the material in its not completely plasticised state, is extremely high. Also the speed of the moulding processie limited hy the high resistance thus set up so that the material commences to set inthe mould before the latter is completely filled which alsocincreases the degree of pressure required tobring the material to its nnal moulded form. The high moulding pressure tends `to open the closed mould andtherefcre necessitates the employment of a heavy, high pressure mould clamping or locking de- Vice and also inyolveszmassivelybuilt moulding apparatus generally, andicomparatively high op erating costs.

The object of the invention is to; provide a modiiied and improved apparatus for moulding plastic materials under pressure which avoids the need for applying' the ultimate` moulding pres-V sure to the mass fot moulding material while in the unformed sta-te.

VIt has heenl proposed vtoapply pressure jte .the moulding material in a` plurality of stagesini which the iinalgstageserves to inject themoulding material into the cavity of the imould.,

According to one featureoi the invention pressure is applied to the., moulding` material in a plurality of stages; at cne,stag e mouldingmaterial` is fed into the .cavity of the` mould through` a number 'oi` passages irirseriesl until the mould cavity is substantiallyA :filled Wthmaterial while at a subsequent stage the supplyol material is cut off and additional .pressure applied-ei an in* a nozzle or tapered sprue; channel.V

i2 termediatepassageto causefurther material to be pressedinto the cavity of the mould.

According to another feature of the inventionA apparatus lor mouldingV plastic material corn` prises a structurehaving aplurality o passages leading into each other successively, means-for` feeding moulding material under pressure through said passages to a mould, means for cutting off the supply of moulding material when the pressure is such as; to substantially nil the cavity of a mould'and means for applying further pressure in oncoi said passages to `inject further material into the mould.

More particularly where the-molding islefiected in two or three pressure stages, according tothe invention, the material is .mainly plasticised in the rst pressure stage and in passing through the following stages is additionally heated.

The bulk of the material, i. e. more than 50% (preferably over is lled into the :mould cavities bythe rst stage pressure, er in the initial stages. On encountering a certain resist--` ance from the material the iirst pressure stage or initial stages out out and penultimate pressure is applied bywhieh the restof the material necessary to-iill the mould is forced therein. In the next stage, which follows7 when the material Oilers a certain resistance, the final pressure is applied by which. any remaining minute branches of the mould cavities are completely lled and the small amount of material supplied necessary tomake up for volume loss due to shrinkage during the hardening process.

In order to achieve the desired performance and eciency in each pressure stage, the space in which the material is subjected to a lower pressure is always closed, whilst or. before applying the pressure of a higher pressure stageY The last pressurestage can be performed in an extrusion nozzle from which the material is dis: charged into the` mould through a tapered sprue channel, but preferably thisy operation is performed in a space directly-connected to the run. ners of the mould without theinterposition of Thisfspece is actually part of` the mould cavity and any material left in it after the iinal pressure appli-v cation hardens, together with the moulded article, and is ejected with it after the moulding operation is completed.

Preferably, theineans `foi-,applying the pressure in the last pressure stage is also used for ejectingV the hardened residue from the space in which the last pressure stage -isapplied after the mould has beenopenem In orderftoA keep this hard-V ened residue, which is more or less waste, to a minimum, the whole space provided for the last pressure stage is made as smali as possible, i. e. in each particular case only large enough to contain a sufficient volume of material to ensure complete filling of the remaining parts of the mould cavities and to replace shrinkage losses. The main difculty in achieving this desired minimum content of the .final pressure space is the fact that there are certain inevitable variations in the feeding and mould filling process due to differences in the density of the material, inaccuracy of feed regulation and the like which have the effect that, in practice, the end positions of the pressure plungers will not be the same in a series of moulding shots. If all these variations, which may be considerable, had t0 be taken into account, the capacity of the space provided for the last pressure stage, and therefore the waste of material would be great.

To overcome this difficulty, two different methods can be applied according to the invention. In the first method, the nal and preceding pressure stages are operated independently so that the space provided for the nal pressure stage is always the same while the space left in the preceding stage, which may vary from shot to shot, is sealed olf.

In the second method, a certain interval is provided between the operation of the final pressure stage and the cutout of the preceding stage during which the means for operating the final pressure stage is already in motion but the space provided for the preceding stage not yet sealed off and capable of a certain expansion so that displaced material can enter this space without the buiding up of any pressure higher than the pressure limit of the preceding stage.

The particular advantage of this multi-stage method of pressure moulding after the cavity of the mould is substantially filled is the fact that the means for exerting higher pressure on the material can be of comparatively small pressure area, as the bulk of the material is supplied to the mould in the first pressure stage or initial pressure stages, preferably by a continuous conveying means. Furthermore, in comparison to other known methods, the total pressure required is low as the final and usually highest pressure is applied to the already plasticised material and over a small area only, whereas, in the known methods, the power supply must be dimensioned for the maximum pressure on the whole area of the injection cylinder.

In order that the nature of the invention may be fully understood constructional forms of pressure moulding apparatus for carrying the process of the invention into eiect will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

Fig. l shows a sectional elevation of a moulding apparatus embodying three pressure stages for moulding thermoplastic material.

Fig. 2 is a sectional detail of part of a mould clamping arrangement.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of a modiiied arrangement of moulding apparatus embodying three pressure stages for moulding thermoplastic material,

Referring to Fig. 1, a reservoir or hopper i is provided from which the granular material is fed by gravity or otherwise into the heating chamber A within which the first phase of the process is applied. E indicates electric heating elements; 3 the bulb of the thermostat control- N switch 3 which stops the motor 5.

ling the temperature of the heating cylinder; and l a conveyor screw, driven by a geared variable speed motor 5. The drive shaft of the conveyor screw i is axially movable to operate a limit switch 8 'by means of a cam l. The material is forced by the screw from the heating chamber A, in which it is plasticised, into the injection cylinder B where further heat may be applied and into the mould through the passage C. As soon as the resistance against the movement of the screw increases beyond a certain limit, the feeding device is cut out by the back pressure e. g. by lifting the screw axially against the pressure of the spring 9, and operating limit Alternatively, the motor could also be stopped by other means, e. g. by an overload trip, 'by a timing device or by a hand switch.

The second pressure stage in which the rest of the plasticised material is filled into the mould cavities is effected, e. g. by means of a plunger iii connected with a hydraulically operated double acting piston il moving in a cylinder i2. As the plunger iii moves forward it closes the entrance port from the chamber A to the chamber B so that the total pressLue of the plunger is available for lling the material into the mould at a higher pressure than that applied in the preceding stage.

A second, smaller hydraulic piston i3 is arranged within a concentric bore of the piston Ii and is connected with a plunger i4 which passes through an axial passage in the plunger iii. The ratio of the area of the piston il to that of the plunger Iii is smaller than that of the area of piston i3 to the area of the plunger id, so that the speciiic pressure exerted by the latter is greater than that of the larger plunger lil, if the same hydraulic pressure is applied to both pistons.

Both pistons are preferably operated by high pressure oil, alternatively supplied and exhausted through the pipelines l5 and I 6 by means of a pump and control system, not shown in the drawing.

As soon as the pressure oil is supplied through pipeline i 5 and exhausted through pipeline iii, the piston H starts moving forward, carrying piston i3 with it, until equilibrium is reached between the oil pressure on the piston area and the resistance of the material in chamber B. Then piston il stops and pressure oil is admitted through a spring loaded check valve i9 in a screwed plug i8 to the left hand side of piston i I 3 pressing the latter forward. The material displaced by plunger i4 pushes plunger i D slightly backward until the plunger I4 enters the bore C, connecting chamber B with the mould cavity 2li. Now the full pressure of the plunger M is applied to the material in the mould ensuring that all parts of the mould cavities are completely lled and shrinkage losses replaced.

During this whole process the two mould halves 2l and 22 must be clamped together in order to prevent their being forced open by the pressure of the plastic material. This pressure/which of course is much less than the applied pressure due to the resistance offered is also considerably smaller than that in the usual injection moulding machines, so that comparatively simple and light clamping devices can be employed, or, with clamping devices of the usual strength, much larger moulds can be locked together to withstand the injection pressure.

As soon as the material is hardened in the aneurisma si; mould .i(whicifforthespurposeroivispeedingrupthier process may bexxwater-"cocledi in; thetfusualf `wvay si the `amould :clamps farei` unlocked and: the mould opened 'by fafiscrewffor fany.` other mechanical onf; hydraulicrmeansywhioh arenot-shOWnIasthey dor: 5 not` `constitute:xpart tot; the -finventi'r'mi` r. As thesf mould opensy. the' Ihardened materialzremaining ins; the'.cylindricalf-spaceffCi isspushed out by their plunger fl fland the nishedmoulding ejected fronn: the moving Vmould l plateif 2l? inthe: .usual Way: by'i f means of ejectorA pins :23", ejectorplate.; 24'andf xed. stops K25.'

When fthe lmoulding .fprocess iscompletedf` their p1ungers-IOLfJand:-' I4 :are retracted-fby.:` changing;u over the. pressure oil .supply 'to pipeline .I blandLA thenl exhaust connection'topipeline I5".V Alsecondi? check "valve I 7 isf provided in -the same plugA I Raton, allow the' oil 'to-escape in "order:to--permitfthe re-f turn` movement of pistonv I3)V The-clamping aref rangement will generally have to be designed rac-'f` cording to the requirements of the-eparticular mould- `and `Will be rpreferably"part of: the'fmould An example' ofa suitable' clamping'arrangement 'asfr shown diagrammatically in VFigs.'lian'dlZ corn-'-A prises a number of `dovvels 26 with slotsf2 iengagedf by lockingfbars'r provided withHWedge--facesi and moved longitudinally by any'su'itablemechae'-fr nism not shown.

Aparticularadvantage of ther-method described`v above isf the high capacity Iof= 'apparatus Working* according to `the method of 'the vlinvention,v due" to the fact that the amount 'ofV material for one-a shot is not -flimited by thespace available in the"` injection cylinder, since the feeding means of the first pressurei-staga-e. `g; vtheconveyor screvvT is capable of delivering `materialthrough the injection cylinder into the `mould continuously as long as the flowresistancezis lovv:` Only'as the latter rises, the feeding is takenoverbythe` sec-21- ond stage injectionplunger andaftersia further rise of the resistance by the third stage pressure plunger, the cross sectionalY area .of the..,latter being only 'a fraction'p the cross sectional area;` of the spacein vvhiclr'thev plunger operates;l

In order to accommodate moulds of different sizesrthe Whole pressure mechanism` can bemade vertically ladjustableY by" means of V-slides;:ad justingscrews ore-any Yotherconvenient way.

While Fig; 1 shows as an'example', an arrangement of the heating cylinder n'avertical position and at right angles to the injection cylinder,` itisunderstood that theinventionis notlimited to" this arrangement but any other arrangement, e. g. with a horizontal heating cylinder or a heating cylinder at any convenient angle to the injection chamber may be used for carrying the method of this invention into eiiect.

In the modified arrangement of moulding apparatus shown in Fig. 3, corresponding parts are denoted by the same references as in Fig. l. In this modification, the plungers I0 and I4 of the second and third pressure stages are independent; the plunger I II always starts from the same point, independent of the end position of the plunger lil, and closes the space B shortly after starting. Thus, a practically constant stroke of the plunger Id, and a minimum of waste material is ensured. In this example a modified feeeding device 4 is shown, similar to a gear pump, but with a certain clearance between the gear teeth to diminish friction of the plastic material. This device can for example be driven by a geared motor (not shown) with a suitable overload trip, cutting the motor out when a certain resistance is reached. As a further modification an additional heanngsadevlcefrzis shcwnainfrig suor-empletingertheplalsticising lprocess irrrthe lsecond prese:4

surestages.:v

In' :.eachf: of ,the. :above described.' embodiments. s or fmoulding apparatus means. such as. electrically ort manually :controlledvalves may bei..` provided :i forfseal-ing.: offfone `.pressure stage: space `from: ther:V preceding :space f before the: pressure is a applied ,5;

Thai-.carrying out ofitlieiinvention is.` not limited y. to the constructionalrforms of moulding. appa-` ratusi :above adescribed While :the i method .i of the; inventorr: is. not` restricted to the f moulding of;V thermoplastic or thermosetting` materials since obviouslyv` the multi-:stage pressure method claimedrin' the-appended claimsrean be applied i withadvantagel` towthe. pressure 'moulding .of self .5 settingzfmaterialsrand forfsthis: purpose modified. forms ".ofk` .apparatus snot necessarily -embodyingfr- :means forf heating the; materiali could beem-14 1..;Insaiemachine:formoulding plastic material-5. the-.combinationf of a .mould cavity, a reservoir for ,moulding materiaha 4structure"having a plurality:

ofaf.passageways leading :serially `from@said-reservoir` v tot Vsaid.` mould cavity; a :.rst feeding means-` associated` :with .one :Lof s said lpassagevvays near.: to` f said .reservoir` for" forcing moulding: material :under pressure from said passagevvayiand:through the-remainingfserial:passagevvays into said mould cavityi-pressureresponsive means'operable yby the pressureffset :up :in the moulding `material i by said iirst feeding meansand meansfor cutting-ofrcon- V"--nectiorrbetvveentsaid:.nrst feeding means .and said mould fcavityi land for: applying further :pressure to'. the'rmoulding `material in: another of.: said -passageways.r nearerftoisaid Amou-ld zcavity for forcing i; further material into said mould cavity, the opera:- i tioni'of Isaid last-mentionedmeans being initiated.

by said pressure-responsive means-upon the ex-rertiomof. .alpredetermined .i pressure by` said first feed-ing fine ans..-A

2.-.Almachine -as-iclaimedin `claim `1 in .which 1f said. connection cut-oir and further; pressure-apy plyingmeans-comprises a plunger movable .in a chamberiformingpne of..said..passageways.

3...Ajmachi`nef as clairnedin claim 1in Which.

said` ',.rst feeding ,means comprises continuous mechanical.` feedingdevice. operating. within a chamberiorming one ofjsaidpassageways, said pressure-responsive means. comprising a device..

which isresponsive to the progressively increased resistance offered by the material being moved by said continuous feeding device.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which Said first feeding means comprises continuous mechanical feeding device operating within a chamber forming one of said passageways, said pressure-responsive means comprising a device which is responsive to the progressively increased resistance offered by the material being moved by said continuous feeding device, and in which said continuous feeding device comprises a rotary screw conveyor.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 1 comprising means for plasticizing the moulding material by heating while passing through said passageways.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 1 which includes further means for cutting-off connection between said further pressure-applying means and said mould cavity and for applying still higher pressure to the moulding material in another of said passageway still nearer to said mould cavity.

-7. A machine as claimed in claim 1 which includes further means for cutting-oir connection between said further pressure-applying means and said mould cavity and for applying still higher pressure to the moulding material in another of said passageways still nearer to said mould cavity. and in which each of said cutting-off and pressure applying means consistl of plungers movable within their associated passageways, said plungers being actuated by iiuid pressure cylinder and piston devices from a common source of iiuid pressure, the different pressures of the two means being obtained by variation of the respective ratios of piston area to plunger area.

8. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said connection cut-oil and further pressure applying means comprises a reciprocatory plunger movable into and out of a passage which leads directly to a runner for said mould cavity, the stroke of said plunger being suicient to eject all moulding material from said passage.

9. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said connection cut-on and further pressure applying means comprises a first plunger movable in the associated passageway and which also includes a second plunger movable within anotherpassageway still nearer to said mould cavity, said second plunger, during its travel covering and sealing a port leading to a passageway associated with said rst plunger.

10. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said connection cut-oil and further pressure applying means comprises a. first plunger movable in the associated passageway and which also includes a second plunger movable within another passageway still nearer to said mould cavity, said second plunger, during its travel covering and sealing a port leading to a passageway associated with said rst plunger, the rst plunger operating in timed relationship to the operative displacement of the second plunger.

11. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said connection cut-off and further pressure applying means comprises a first plunger movable in the associated passageway and which also includes a second plunger movable within another passageway still nearer to said mould cavity, said second plunger, during its travel covering and sealing a port leading to a passageway associated with said rst plunger, the second plunger being carried by the rst plunger to move bodily therewith when the iirst plunger advances and subsequently to perform its operative movement separately from the movement of the ram.

12. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said connection cut-oilE and further pressure applying means comprises a rst plunger movable in the associated passageway and which also includes a second plunger movable within another passageway still nearer to said mould cavity, said second plunger, during its travel covering and sealing a port leading to a passageway associated with said first plunger, the second plunger being carried by the iirst plunger to move bodily therewith when the rst plunger advances and subsequently to perform its operative movement separately from the movement of the ram, and the relative movement between the first and second plungers being controlled by a device which is responsive to the progressively increased resistance offered by the material to the pressure applied thereto.

13. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said connection cut-off and further pressure applying means comprises a rst plunger movable in the associated passageway and which also includes a second plunger movable within another passageway still nearer to said mould cavity, said second plunger, during its travel covering and sealing a port leading to a passageway associatedl with said first plunger, the rstplunger being operated under pressure and is adapted to yield as the second plunger advances to maintain the pressure substantially constant until the passage in which the first plunger operates is sealed 01T.

FRANZ KARL GOLDI-IARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are 0I record in the file of this patent:

501,277 Great Britain Aug. 22, 1938 

